Category Archives: Sunday Morning

In the time we are given

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“Jesus said to his disciples: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” (Mark 13:24-25)

Maybe it is as simple as the ever shortened days we live in. Days of diminished light intensity and warmth; days of growing shadows.  The same news seems a little worse. Maybe it is that the news is in fact becoming worse.  That there is a persistent of wintry shadows whose tendrils reach into the recesses of life and imagination.  Shadows that make reading the signs of the times more difficult; that make us wonder if there is a reason for Hope.  Wonder if these are the end of days. Continue reading →

Called to notice

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Our gospel is known as the story of the Widow’s Mite. As you just heard, a widow donates two small coins, while wealthy people donate much more. A common explanation of the story is that Jesus praises the poor widow and holds her up as an example to us all because she gave “her whole livelihood.” So even though the rich people gave more, it was just for show and only from their chump change. Not the widow, she is “all in” in what she gives to God. The moral of the story is that small sacrifices of the poor mean more to God than the extravagant donations of the rich. And so, I could have a seat at this point, leave you to think about your weekly offering, your Annual Appeal pledge… are you giving chump change, or are your contributing your whole livelihood? I could but there is more here than meets the eye. Continue reading →

Love and Commitment

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As part of our morning prayer as a community of Friars, we read the names aloud for the friars who passed away on the given day. This weekend marks the 12th anniversary of the passing of one of the true characters and legends of our Franciscan province. Brother Juniper Capece was a friar for 60 years, was our provincial tailor, and was the keeper of many of the stories of the friars – you know, the ones that never get written down, but bring everyone to tears because we are laughing so hard. Continue reading →

Kyrie Eleison

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“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” (Mark 10:47)  Chuck Roberts was not an exceptional person – at least not in the way the world would account for such things. He graduated high school, held a number of jobs, saved a little, married, and settled down to have a family. He was laid to rest at age 32 on a gray raining morning. His wife Marie and their two small children stood at the graveside – no money, no insurance, no near-by family. Chuck was the only wage earner. They had never been rich, but now they were on the edge of poor ready to tumble in head first. Continue reading →

Grace for the Journey

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What is the longest river in the world? Gotta’ be the Nile River, right? It flows 1,700 miles from Khartoum, Sudan to the Mediterranean Sea – and that is just where the White and Blue Niles meet. You can follow the White Nile south to Lake Victoria bordering Uganda… and then the arguments begin on what is the source of any river. Clearly rivers, streams, and the like flow into Lake Victoria – do you get to keep following the water flow? Even as recently as 2006 the geographers and cartographers were seeking the “headwaters of the Nile River.”  The most recent claim is a muddy hole in Nyungwe Forest in southwest Rwanda. The forest area is spectacular, the muddy hole not so much. Personally, I would have taken Lake Victoria as the headwater.  Think about it: a great lake giving greatness to the greatest river. Continue reading →

Loopholes or love

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A man comes to Jesus seeking answers. The man knows that whatever his appearance on the outside, whatever his faithful and pious life, he’s missing something, something important, something that matters, something that’s a matter of life and death. The man instinctively knows this but is unable to put his finger on it. So he comes to Jesus and asks: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Continue reading →

Being Complete

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There was a just-ordained priest was asked to celebrate a wedding for the first time.  He was nervous. So he decided to seek help from the Pastor, who told him, “Don’t worry about it.  Just recite any appropriate Bible verse and everything will be all right. They’re not going to remember what you say anyway.” The day of the wedding came, and the priest was even more nervous. As he looked at the couple standing before him, he forgot everything he was going to say.  Remembering what the Pastor said, he quoted the first Scripture that came to mind, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Continue reading →

Necessary Dialogues

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The first reading today is taken from Numbers. It is during the time of the wilderness trek when Moses and the people have long since departed from Egypt but have not arrived in the Promised Land. There are lots of people on the trek and as you might expect, there are lots of problems and complaints. The Lord directed Moses to select 70 elders to help with the burden of leadership. As promised, the Lord gave the elders the gift of the Spirit and they immediately began to prophesy. At the same time there are two others, not selected as elders, who receive the same Spirit and they too are prophesying. Do the elders rejoice because the Spirit of the Lord is spreading among the people? Seems not. I guess human nature being what it is, the elders complain that the two are not officially elders. I guess their thinking is that the gift of the Spirit is only for elders. Moses corrects their misconception: “Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Continue reading →

Somewhere along the way

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Somewhere along the way of life, we adults lost a thing or two. Perhaps, it is part of maturation. But then again, maybe we simply lost something valuable. For the second time Jesus has announced to the disciples that he will suffer, die, and rise again after three days. What follows is either a remarkable calm, a stunned silence, an amazing lack of curiosity, a moment of “what did he just say” as a cover for lack of understanding, or maybe it is just fear.  I always wonder that if a child had been there, curiosity would have piqued their interest, especially that whole “rise again after three days.” I easily imagine a child saying, “You’re gonna’ rise from the dead? Cool! How’s that?” Continue reading →

Our Cross

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The English language is a colorful landscape of idioms, expressions and all manner of this and that. Sometimes it is like exploring the attic in your grandparent’s house. Never know what you’ll find. I have always enjoyed exploring the etymology, that is, the origins of words and expressions. One of our common expressions is used when we see someone who has to accept or is stuck in an unpleasant situation or responsibility because there is no way to avoid dealing with it. We remark “that’s their cross to bear.” Continue reading →